Who is Duane Martin, and has he ever acted with Will Smith?

The Smith family is seeped in drama, these days, and they can’t seem to escape it.

Between the slap heard ’round the world, Jada Pinkett-Smith’s revelations about her relationship with Will, and newfound rumors regarding Will’s sexuality, it seems like new Smith drama drops on a daily basis. The latest claims — which, to be clear, are nothing more than blatant gossip — allege a sexual relationship between Will Smith and an old friend, actor Duane Martin. The pair have been in a few projects together, but that’s far from a confirmation of their relationship.

More importantly, Smith himself has denied the allegations. In response to a salacious report from a former assistant, Brother Bilaal, alleging a sexual encounter between he and Martin, Smith called the tale “completely fabricated” and “unequivocally false,” according to The Root. Putting aside the inherent ugliness of purposefully and maliciously attempting to out someone — which, of course, would hinge on the story being true — the Smiths’ denial of the story is enough for us to toss the whole thing out. Even if elements of it are rooted in truth, its no one’s place but Smith’s or Martin’s to reveal anything about their relationship.

What’s worse, in some ways, is how the story is bound to damage the actual relationship between Smith and Martin. The two have been friends for years, and claims seemingly made specifically to cause harm — like the one Bilaal made to YouTuber Tasha K. — can heavily impact the optics of that friendship. Fear of how people, and tabloids, will react may push the pair to keep one another at arm’s length going forward. Its a real shame, considering how well the two talented men accent one another on-screen.

Who is Duane Martin?

Duane Martin isn’t quite as famous as the other half of this non-scandal, but he’s been in more than enough releases to make a name for himself. He never quite made it to the NBA, but Martin was a closely-watched up-and-comer in his early years, before he pivoted over to acting.

That happened back in early ’90s, first with a few television shows and music video appearances, before properly debuting with 1992’s White Men Can’t Jump. From there, he appeared in a range of popular films and television shows through the ’90s and 2000s — some of which he starred in alongside Smith. Even after he made the shift over to primarily television in the 2010s he held onto the roots he and Smith put down years ago.

Which release have Duane Martin and Will Smith been in together?

Martin and Smith worked together, for the first time, in 1993. That’s when Martin was first on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a show he’d return to several years later. He came back, once again playing a character with his same name, in 1995, and then took a lengthy break from the program.

Until, that is, the modern reimagining of the story was released. Duane also returned to grace Bel-Air with his talent, this time playing a character named Steven Lewis. He was only involved in the show’s first season, so far, but he could always return in the future. The show was renewed for season 3 earlier this year, and its continued popularity will likely earn it several more seasons. Smith is involved with the series behind the scenes, so there’s a chance he and Martin’s paths will cross, should the actor return in future seasons. Let’s just hope the rumor mill doesn’t make an issue of it.